Forces organize for and against extension of hospital mill levy
TEA Party plans rallies in opposition
The campaigns for and against the extension of the Sandoval County hospital mill levy are intensifying as the Nov. 8 general election draws nearer.
The Rio Rancho TEA Party announced that rallies are planned in coming weeks to oppose the tax.
In about two weeks, demonstrators will stand alongside main roads including Southern Boulevard, N.M. 528 and U.S. 550, carrying signs to urge voters to stop the tax from being renewed.
“We are going to protest,” said Chuck Wilkins, vice president of the Rio Rancho TEA Party and former Rio Rancho city councilor. “This is our No. 1 priority for this election.”
Sandoval County voters approved the 4.25 mill levy in 2008, generating nearly $110 million in revenues to support operations of Presbyterian Rust Medical Center and UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center. It expires this year.
In August, the county commission voted to place a question seeking to renew the tax for eight more years on the general election ballot.
Proponents contend the tax is vital to continue adding important medical services and say that having the two hospitals has been a great economic boon for the region, creating jobs and spinoff development.
The measure, however, has spurred a wave of opposition from other groups and individuals, not just the TEA Party, and has forged unusual alliances between members of diverse political parties.
Mike Neas of Placitas, a registered Democrat, is one of many who have joined forces with the TEA Party to fight the measure.
“This is not a partisan issue,” Neas said. “This is a commonsense issue.”
He said it is time for citizens to stop financing the hospital and spend their tax money on other projects.
The Placitas-based Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ES-CA) has not taken a formal position on the tax and has been encouraging voters to decide the issue at the polls.
Members of the association, though, have been among those attending TEA Party meetings, giving presentations and circulating materials against the tax, such as bumper stickers.
Letters to the editor and guest columns urging the tax be defeated have also appeared in newspapers in recent weeks.
Advocates for the tax have turned up their campaigns a notch as well, with advertising and letters to the editor.
Former Mayor Tom Swisstack was a recent letter-writer to the Observer, citing what he called a “tremendous financial return on this long-term investment.”
“For example, these institutions have provided 1,300 jobs in our community, generating $328 million in payroll since opening,” he wrote. “Over the years, they have contributed nearly $30 million in charity and $67 million for our community.”
Wilkins was among Rio Ranchoans who initially voted to support mill levy tax funding for Presbyterian Rust and UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center, yet he views the hospitals’ recent statements
regarding the tax as “hollow words.”
“I don’t mind giving a business a helping hand to get started, but I don’t believe in corporate welfare,” Wilkins said.
Since making an open stand opposing the tax, the TEA Party’s Facebook site has seen a spike in traffic, with views jumping from 6,000 to 10,000, he said. This increase has been from nonmembers engaging with the group. Wilkins said it is unusual for people with so many different views to converge on one issue.
“I think it’s going to be a lot more of a challenge for them (the hospitals) this time,” Wilkins said.
During his term as a city councilor, Wilkins said, many constituents contacted him to express frustration and opposition to the hospital tax. He said those feelings still run strong in many people.
“That money should be put aside for infrastructure, so we can help other businesses and get a better return on our money,” he said, citing public safety, fire department shortages, and other economic development incentives as areas where tax money would be better spent.
One of the issues that most upsets him, he says, is Presbyterian’s decision to no longer offer plans under the Affordable Care Act.
“It’s sad that they want a subsidy, especially Presbyterian, when they aren’t willing to give a subsidy to those who need it the most,” Wilkins said. “That’s one thing that really bothers me.”